A Day of Fun in the Sand
by Awesome Rapidash
Summary: Another hot day in Mineral Town has everyone looking for a way to beat the heat. What follows can only be discribed as silliness in the sand!


_This short little tale follows our friends in Mineral Town while they deal with an extremely hot day by heading to the beach. Take a look and let me what you think. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon, Natsume does. _

_**A Day of Fun in the Sand**_

An orange color filled the horizon as the sun began its daily trek into the sky over Mineral Town. As the sunlight filtered into their coops, the roosters over on the Poultry Farm began their morning concert. On a nearby farm, a still sleepy Jack rolled over and glanced at his clock.

"Man, I can't believe it's six in the morning already," he mumbled to himself as he climbed out of bed. A bead of sweat rolled down his cheek as he walked over to the window of his bedroom. "Geez, I can't believe that it's so hot so early in the morning," he mused to himself as he glanced at the steadily climbing red fluid inside the thermometer outside his window.

Happy barking brought him fully into reality and looking down he smiled at his canine friend panting next to him.

"I bet you're hot too," he said as he petted the small dogs head. "Are you hungry Kimi?" He questioned his pet. Her anxious barks gave him an immediate answer.

After preparing Kimi's dog food and putting her bowl down onto the ceramic tile floor of the kitchen, he began to prepare himself some pancakes and bacon for breakfast. As he readied the food, he reached over and switched on the TV and tuned it to the weather channel.

"….and today promises to be a real scorcher," Lisa explained with a small smile, pointing at a large map of the local region behind her. "We can expect clear blue skies and temperatures well into the nineties for much of the region…."

With a sigh Jack walked over and switched of the television. "Come on Kimi; let's get the chores done before it gets unbearable out there."

His canine companion barked in agreement and padded over towards the door, ready to be let out.

Jack turned the knob and opened the door. He regretted the action almost immediately as he was greeted by a wave of sticky hot air. "Come on Kimi, no sense in delaying the inevitable," he chuckled to the small dog, trying to coax her out of the cool air conditioned house. Reluctantly she finally complied with her owners request and joined him in the sun drenched yard. Together the two began to walk over to their first stop, the chicken coop.

Inside Jack found the hens sitting lethargically in their nests, the heat taking a toll on the feathered residents of the farm. "I'd better set up an extra fan for you before I leave," He said as he prepared their morning meal.

After collecting the eggs and turning on a large ceiling mounted ventilating fan, Jack made sure that his feathered friends had plenty of water. "Try to stay cool you guys," he said before exiting the coop and making sure the door was firmly closed.

Next on the farmers "to do" list was he mare Sakura. Jack followed Kimi as she trotted over to the stable and sat down in the shade just off to the side of the doorway. Jack smiled and patted the dogs head before pulling the heavy wooden stable door open and walking inside.

The white and brown colored mare paced restlessly in her stall. She was obviously bothered by the oppressive heat and humidity. She whinnied happily as Jack lovingly brushed her coat, paying special attention the area around her ears, one of Sakura's favorite places to he scratched. Once her coat was taken care of Jack went about putting a generous portion of fresh fodder into her feed bin as well as adding a large ice block to her water trough. Satisfied that she was set, he walked back outside and headed over towards the large red barn across from his house.

He was just finishing up giving his cows Megumi and Yume water when girl's voices shouting out his name filled his ears. A smile filled the brown haired farmer's face as he recognized them immediately.

"Elli… Ann, I'm out here in the barn!" He shouted trying to catch their attention.

Ann was the first to acknowledge his shouts and few minutes later the two girls pushed open the side door of the barn and walked inside.

Jack stood up and looked over at his approaching friends, but was surprised by what he saw! Ann was dressed in her usual blue jean coveralls and white tee shirt. However it's Elli that has him wondering if the heat was finally getting to him and causing him to see a mirage. Instead of her usual frilly blue and white dress, she was wearing a light colored floral patterned knee length sun dress. The young nurse seemed somewhat apprehensive about something and was hanging slightly behind Ann.

"Hi ladies, warm enough for you today?" He asked semi sarcastically.

"Yeah, it's a real scorcher out there today," Ann replied as she wiped a bit of sweat from her forehead. "Come on Elli, get out here!" She piped, grabbing her friend's hand and dragging her out from behind her. "All you've been talking about since you got this dress was showing it to Jack!"

The brown haired nurse could feel her cheeks begin to burn as she saw her boyfriend looking at back her with an approving grin plastered across his face.

"Wow, your dress looks nice El, that's a good look for you."

"Th…thanks Jack, Ann helped me to pick it out," she replied softly.

"So this is how you manage to keep your animals cool on hot days," Ann said as she pointed to a large fan hanging from the barns ceiling, its metal blades spinning rapidly and circulating the air around the barn.

"Yeah, that helps to keep the air moving, but on days like this not much can really be done to keep it all that cool in here. I really feel sorry for my animals when it's so damn hot like it is today."

"Well, that's why we're here in fact," Elli began. "It's much too hot to do any real work on your farm today, so how about joining us for a nice day at the beach?"

"Yeah come on, it'll be a blast," Ann urged with a smile. "Besides, I happen to know that Elli has a new swimsuit and she's dying to show it off to you."

Ann's revelation about her new swimsuit instantly caused Elli's cheeks to do impressions of ripe tomatoes. "Ann, I asked you not to tell him about it," she pouted.

"Oops, what can I say, I guess it just slipped out," The red head giggled. "So how about it Jack, are you up for some wacky beach fun?"

The farmer considered the question for a moment. "Well you are right about it being way too hot to do much on the farm and the beach does sound like fun," he replied. Jack smiled at the two girls, his chores were done and he certainly wasn't looking forward to spending a long hot day in the fields. "Count me in!"

"Cool, this will be a blast! I can't wait to cool off in the ocean," Ann sighed happily.

"Hey how about we pack a lunch and some snacks? I've got a ton of stuff, we could make a day out of it," Jack added.

Both girls nodded and all three walked over to Jack's house and went inside. Once inside they quickly began to prepare a picnic basket with snacks and assorted sandwiches. They also add some drinks into a white Styrofoam cooler. With the preparations complete the trio reluctantly exits the cool home and headed towards the beach.

Kimi's barking stops them before they reach the gate. "Come on girl!" Jack called to his pet. "You deserve some fun at the beach too!"

"Did you remember to bring Kimi's Frisbee?" Ann questioned curiously.

"I sure did," the farmer replied happily. 'We've been practicing a lot recently and I think we'll have a good chance at winning the Frisbee catching contest this year."

"It sounds like someone's determined to win this year." Elli said as she scratched Kimi's ear playfully.

It took just thirty minutes for the group to reach the Mineral Town beach. Once there, they separate momentarily and walk over to their respective changing rooms to change into their swimsuits. Jack was the first to finish and walked out of the cement structure and down to the warm sand to wait for his companions. As he waits for the girls to finish dressing he met Gray.

"Hey Gray, how'd you get out today? Does Saibara even know you are here at the beach slaking off?" Jack questioned.

"Yeah he does in fact. Gramps said it was just too hot to work in the shop today, so I came here," he explained. "That damn old coot must be going crazy with the heat, he actually told me to have fun!"

"Did you come here with Mary?" The farmer asked curiously.

"Yep I sure did! The library is closed today so we thought we'd have some fun here at the beach. She's in the changing room now getting dressed," he replied hooking a thumb towards the small building directly behind them.

"I guess that explains why it's taking Elli and Ann so long to finish in there," Jack sighed. "They're probably comparing their swimsuits or some other girlie thing.

"Yeah you're probably right about that! Girls are always doing crap like that." Gray added with a chuckle.

"We're always doing crap like what?" A voice behind the boys questioned.

Jack and Gray turn quickly around and find Ann walking down the steps of the changing room. She is wearing a fairly revealing light blue bikini that seemed to accent her chest.

"So boys, what sort of crap are us girls always doing?" She questioned again.

"Ah… you know. You girls are always comparing your stuff." Gray stammered as he tried to avert his eyes from the cute barmaid's scantily clad chest.

"We do not!" Ann replied in a slightly irritated voice. "You boy's just don't understand the way a girls mind works, that's all," she added.

"Duh, of course we don't, were guys!" Jack replied sarcastically.

Ann was about to retort when Elli, who was wearing a modestly revealing red one piece swimsuit, and Mary, clad in a more subdued floral patterned skirted swimsuit exit the changing room and walk over to where they are standing.

"Ah, I'm saved!" Gray sighed, relived that he no longer needed to explain his comment to a slightly inked barmaid.

"Come on guys," Elli chirped. "Let's hurry up and get the blanket spread out and then hit the water!"

Jack and Elli follow Mary and Gray over to the spot where their blanket was already spread out. Working together, they get their blanket down and smoothed out. Ann then placed the cooler in the center along with a dark tan colored cloth handbag. With the blankets all set everyone began to get ready for a refreshing plunge in the cool ocean waters.

"Hey Jack, would you please do me a favor and put some of this sun block on my back?" Elli asked politely handing her boyfriend the bottle of lotion.

"Umm… sure El," Jack replied in a slightly embarrassed tone. His cheeks flushed slightly at the thought of applying the lotion on Elli's soft skin.

"Hey Jack, can you do me next?" Ann asked in a sultry voice.

"Yeah, yeah sure thing Ann," A now very flustered Jack replied.

"Careful Ann, he's mine," Elli cautioned her friend playfully.

The comments cause both girls to break out in fit of laughter. Once Elli calmed back down Jack began to apply the lotion to his girlfriend's shoulders, gently spreading the white liquid in slow circular motions.

It was about then that Gray noticed that his friend's hands were shaking nervously. "Hey Jack, what's the matter dude? Why are you shaking like a leaf in the breeze?" He teased before elbowing his friend playfully. "I mean you've got two hot chicks wanting you to lotion them up and you look like you're afraid to even touch them!"

"Hey man, it's nothing like that!" Jack fired back. "It's just that… umm… well, you know."

"Now I don't know," Gray prodded. "Please explain it to me."

"Ah, never mind." Jack huffed, returning his attention to the application of the lotion on Elli's back. Once he was finished with Elli, Ann stepped over and smiled sweetly. "It's my turn now Jacky!"

Elli knew her friend was just playing around and instead of offering up some sort of a response she simply rolled her chocolate brown eyes and shook her head. With everyone properly protected from the searing sun overhead their next stop was the cool azure waters of the ocean.

"Last one in is a rotten egg!" Ann shouted as she headed towards the lapping waves. Elli glanced at Jack and sprinted away.

"Hey, wait for me you two!"

Gray and Mary soon join them and before long a splashing contest breaks out girls vs. boys.

* * *

After about an hour of swimming, Elli exited the sea and walked over to their blanket. She reached into the cloth handbag and removed a dark green towel. She dried herself off and sat down. Jack walked up a few minutes later and Elli tossed him a yellow towel. Once dry, Jack joined his girlfriend on the blanket.

"Your new swimsuit looks really good on you. It compliments your figure nicely."

"Thanks Jack," Elli replied shyly. "You don't think it's to risqué, do you?"

"Not at all, like I said it's perfect for your figure."

"Well, I'm glad you like it," she replied in a relived voice. "Karen was the one who helped me pick it out and you know how Karen's tastes are! I was sort of worried that it would be a bit to revealing for me."

Still out in the water Ann took notice of Jack and Elli sitting on the blanket and tapped Mary on the shoulder. 'Don't they make a cute couple?"

"Yes, they do indeed," the dark haired librarian sighed. "Now if only I could get Gray to do that with me."

"Have you tried asking him to sit next to you?" Ann questioned. "Here I'll demonstrate what I mean."

Mary moved to stop the red head but before she could voice a protest, Ann called out to Gray. "Hey Gray, you know what? Mary would really like to sit together with you on the beach!"

Only a short distance away from them a red faced blacksmith looked over. First at Ann and then at Mary who was also blushing brightly.

He then walked over to the young librarian and gently took her hands in his own. "Well if that's what you wanted to do Mary, all you had to do was ask," he replied. "Come on, let's go!" He added with a broad smile.

Now alone, Ann sighed softly and walked out of the water and over to the blanket. She reached into the handbag and pulled out Kimi's Frisbee. She giggled as she tossed the bright orange plastic disc to the small dog. Kimi eagerly retrieved it and brought it back to her no matter how far Ann tried to sail it. She repeated this several times with each yielding a better result. "It seems that Jack wasn't kidding when he said you two had been practicing," she praised the dog while stroking Kimi's soft fur.

"Hey Ann, come over here!" Jack shouted as he waved for her to join them.

Curious, the bikini clad barmaid walked over to the blanket. "What's up?"

"Hey Ann, Check this out, Gray and I are going to make you girls into mermaids."

"Eh, how are you going to do that?" The red head questioned curiously.

"It's simple really. See, you just have to lie down and we'll use sand to sculpt your legs into mermaid tails," Jack explained.

"Hey, that sounds like fun!" Ann chirped and plopped herself down onto the warm sand. "Create away!"

It doesn't take long before all three girls are buried up to their waists in sand and Gray and Jack were busy sculpting the sand into mermaid tails.

"Hey Jack, be careful! Don't make me look so fat," Elli protested as she pointed to the swelled size of her sand tail.

"Yeah, no fat tails! And I want a bigger tail fin," Ann complained. "How in the world could I ever swim with that little thing?" She added pointing towards her small sand fin.

"Gray, I believe that my tail should be a bit more defined," Mary added as she demonstrated how to draw scales in the sand. "After all, a mermaid's tail has scales."

"Geez, can you believe this? What a bunch of critics," Jack laughed. "Hey Gray, want do you say we just bury them completely and head over to Kai's for a snack?"

"Sounds like a plan to me." Gray laughed and began to push more sand towards Mary.

"Gray Smith, don't even consider doing such a thing to me!" Mary retorted angrily.

"Relax ladies, it was just a joke. You know we could never do anything like that to you."

"I don't know, sometimes I wonder…" Ann added. Her comment caused a round of laughter among the participants.

A little while later Jack and Gray stand up and admire their handiwork. "Well, well such cute mermaids we have here!" Jack exclaimed. "I claim the brown haired one as my bride."

"I'll take the brunette," Gray added pointing to a blushing Mary.

"Then I'll take the red head," A voice behind Jack said.

Turning around Jack comes face to face with a grinning Cliff.

"Like I said, I'll take the red head. That is, if no one else wants her," he laughed.

"She's all yours my friend," Jack replied with a laugh. "Who would want a mermaid with such a small tail fin any way?"

"I told you to make my fin bigger," Ann protested loudly. More laughs echoed across the beach.

With the boy's help, the girl's free themselves from the sand and after a quick dip in the sea to wash off they dry off and sit back down with their respective boyfriends for some lunch.

Ann and Elli hand out the sandwiches while Jack passed out drinks. "These look yummy, did you make them El?" Mary asked curiously before taking a bite out of her sandwich.

"No, Jack made them," the nurse answered. "Ann and I made the snacks."

"Well, one thing's for sure Jack, if you fail as a farmer you could always become a cook at the Inn," Ann quipped.

"Gee thanks Ann," Jack retorted playfully.

After lunch Mary and Gray decide to take a walk to help their food digest while Ann decides to do some sunbathing. Jack excuses himself from the group and gets up. He heads over to Kai's snack shack, returning ten minutes later.

"Hey El, want to go do some snorkeling with me?" Jack questioned holding up some diving gear. "I got this stuff from Kai; he told me that there are a lot of pretty fish to look at out there just beyond the pier."

"Sure Jack, that sounds like fun!" The nurse replied. "Let's go."

For the next forty five minutes Jack and Elli swim hand in hand both above and below the water's surface. Just as Kai had said there were plenty of colorful fish just beyond the pier. Even with their human intruders, the fish didn't seem to mind and swam about happily.

Elli swam over to Jack and paused for a moment treading water on the surface.

"Hey Jack, I saw some pretty seashells down there. I'm going to dive down and get some," she informed before taking a couple of deep breaths and disappearing below the water's surface.

Jack dipped his head below the surface and watched in amazement as his girlfriend effortlessly dove down some fifteen feet to the sandy sea bottom, leaving only a trail of small bubbles behind her as she goes. Elli paused on the sea floor for a few moments as she selected the shells she wanted. Satisfied she returned to the surface, bringing up several colorful seashells with her.

"Wow El, those are really pretty," Jack said as he examined the shells. He then smiled at the brown haired girl. "Wow, I didn't know you could hold your breath so well. Are you sure you're not part mermaid?"

"Sorry to disappoint you Jack, but I'm one hundred percent human. But I do love to swim, and diving underwater is just as much fun. So sort of challenge myself to go as deep as possible on just one breath. The more I did that, the longer I could stay under."

"I see. Still, that was pretty amazing if you ask me."

After putting the seashells on the pier, they continue to swim and dive for another ten minutes before heading back and rejoining the others.

"Hey guys, look at the seashells Elli found," Jack said holding out the colorful shells in his hand.

Ann smiled and took the shells from the farmer and looked closely at them. "Hey Elli, want me to show you how to make a necklace out of these shells?"

"Sure Ann, I'd like that," the nurse replied happily.

With daylight beginning to fade and the sky turning from deep reddish orange to a velvety black, the group began to gather wood for a bonfire.

While the wood was being gathered and the fire prepared, Karen and Rick join them. As night envelopes Mineral Town, Kai closes up his Snack Shack and together with his girlfriend Popuri, joins the group. Jack and Gray share the honors of lighting the fire.

For the next few hours the friends all enjoy singing songs and telling jokes while sitting around the crackling fire.

Finally around ten o'clock the party began to break up. The first to leave was Mary and Gray, followed by Ann and Cliff. Elli smiled at her boyfriend and squeezed his hand.

"I think it's time for me to get back home," she said softly. "I'm getting sleepy."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, it is late and I do have to get up early."

After saying good-by to Karen, Rick, Popuri and Kai Jack and Elli pack up their belongings and head back to town and Jack walked his girlfriend back to her Grandma's house.

"Goodnight Jack and thanks. I had a wonderful time," Elli said as she walked up to the door.

Jack joined her a moment later and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, pulling her into a warm loving hug. "I had fun too El," he replied before giving her a sweet kiss goodnight.

Elli returned the kiss and after a few moments they separated. "Come by the clinic tomorrow and visit me if you have some free time. Sleep well and have sweet dreams Jack," she added before closing the door behind her.

Jack and Kimi walked silently back to the farm and after a quick check of his animals he headed inside.

"Wow, I don't know about you Kimi, but I'm bushed," he yawned to his four legged companion as the small dog hopped up on the bed and sat down next to her master. "Today sure was a lot of fun, but now it's time to hit the sack."

Jack lay down and Kimi curled up next to him. Smiling he closed his eyes to sleep, hoping that a certain brown hared nurse would join him in his dreams.


End file.
